Sustainable Farming

Newbriefs

Dole has
announced the acquisition of one of California's leading organic
produce markets, Made In Nature Inc.. Dole announced that Made In
Nature, while structurally a subsidiary of Dole, would continue
to do business as before. Made In Nature works with more than 130
contract growers in the United States and Latin America.
"This move by Dole will have a major rippling effect in the
world of organics, signifying that the "O" word has
finally arrived," said another organic produce marketer.

Source: The
Packer

Members of the
USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program are moving along with plans to train Cooperative
Extension Service agents in sustainable agriculture. Five
training projects in the Northeast will be held at Cornell
University, Penn State University, University of Vermont,
University of Vermont Extension/New England Consortium (Maine
Organic Farmers and Gardeners Assoc., NOFA of Vermont and
University of Massachusetts), and University of West Virginia.
The Western, North Central and Southern SARE regions will
announce their 1994 training projects in the fall.

Under the 1990
Farm Bill, the USDA must establish a program to provide
sustainable agriculture training to Extension Agents and selected
field staff of Soil Conservation Service and Agriculture Soil
Conservation Service by 1995. Training will take place at farms,
schools, conferences and workshops.

Congress in
1994 allocated $2.96 million to select regional training
coordinators and begin establishing regional sustainable
agriculture training consortiums and projects. President Clinton
in his 1995 budget proposal has asked that $5 million be allotted
to the effort.

Source: FPANA
Reports

Congress increases
SARE, extension funding for new fiscal year

Congress last
month approved funding increases for key sustainable agriculture
programs, including the Sustainable Agriculture Research and
Education (SARE) program and the Sustainable Agriculture
Technology Development and Transfer Program (SATDTP). the
House-Senate Conference on the 1995 Agriculture Appropriation Act
also approved an appropriations increase for the Wetlands Reserve
Program, but decreased funding for the Water Quality Incentive
Program. The final appropriations figures for key sustainable
agriculture programs in Fiscal Year 1995, which began October 1,
are:

SARE: $8.1
million. The Clinton Administration had requested $8.8 million
for the program, whose appropriation last year was $7.4 million;
the House had approved $7.4 million for SARE; the Senate had
approved $8.8 million.

SATDTP: $3.5
million. The Clinton Administration had requested $5 million for
the program, whose appropriation last year was $3 million; the
House had approved $3 million for SATDTP; the Senate had approved
$4 million.

Wetlands
Reserve Program: $93.2 million. The Clinton Administration had
requested $240.9 million for the program, whose appropriation
last year was $66.7 million; the House and the Senate had both
approved $93.2 million for the program.

Water Quality
Incentive Program: $15 million. The Clinton Administration had
requested $15 million for the program, whose funding last year
was $18.5 million; the House and the Senate had both approved $15
million for the program.